Automatic vending machine

Abstract

A beverage vending machine makes use of a microcomputer to compute the time duration for supply of component materials in accordance with stored data and supplied input data.

We claim: 
     
       1. A vending machine for vending plural kinds of commodities, with each commodity being formed from at least three component materials, comprising: (1) input means for selectively inputing control data representative of a kind of commodity, a desired quantity of the commodity to be vended and desired ratios for said at least three component materials forms the commodity to be vended;   (2) a memory storing numerical data;   (3) a microcomputer, including a control program, for: (a) selecting numerical data from said memory according to said input data, and   (b) computing output feed time duration control signals, representative of corresponding feed times that each component material should be supplied at a respective constant feed rate to form a desired commodity, using said input data and said selected numerical data, and wherein the feed time duration control signal for the third component material is obtained by substracting signals representing first and second short time intervals from the sum of signals representing the feed time durations for the first and second component materials, said first and second short time intervals being relatively short compared to the time durations represented by the at least three time duration control signals;     (4) component supply means for supplying each of the three component materials at a substantially constant feed rate into a commodity container; and   (5) control means, responsive to said output feed time duration control signals, for controlling the component supply means to cause said third component material to be dispensed during a period starting said first short time interval after the start of dispensing of said first component material and ending said second short time interval before the end of the dispensing of said second component material.   
     
     
       2. The machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said third component material is syrup and said first and second component materials are carbonated water and plain cold water respectively. 
     
     
       3. The machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said control means terminates dispensing the first component material approximately simultaneously with the beginning of dispensing the second component material. 
     
     
       4. The machine as set forth in claim 2 further including means for dispensing a fourth component material comprising ice in response to a control input, and wherein said microcomputer means reduces the signals representing the sum of the first and second time intervals to compensate for the presence of ice.